the bolts that came with my fenders are too long and causes the chain to not be able to shift into the smallest cog on my cassette, needs to be replaced with a shorter one

STFF!

All right- it's M5 X 0.8 . Available anywhere metric hardware is sold. Home Depot and auto parts stores will have this size.

stff?

and thanks

I use 10mm long bolts in the dropouts. Your local home center will have them but probably not in stainless steel. The best place to get them is your LBS.

or just add m5 washers until it fits... it's the other extra easy fix.

Bah! Go to a good hardware store. They'll have hundreds if not thousands of different metric fasteners. Ace, Do It Best, True Value, Hardware Hank etc. You'll have your choice of zinc plated steel, alloy, hardened, stainless, and possibly polished stainless or chrome.

Home centers and hardware stores around here have mediocre selections of bike-sized stainless metric fasteners.

I am guessing you secure the eyelets with nuts, correct? Why not thread them the opposite way (the head of the bolt towards the cassette). You should have clearance if you do it that way.

The clearance between the inner face of the dropout and the smallest cog can be tight enough that there isn't even room for a bolt head in there without interferring with the chain. I also use M5x0.8 x 10 mm bolts on the drive side and add washers as needed to have the bolt end exactly flush with the eyelet's inside face.

On the non-drive side there is a lot more clearance and I use a longer bolt and add a nut to the inside for additional security.

1. Mark the proper width on the bolt making sure you have everything in place.
2. Run a nut up to the head of the bolt (unless you have a tap & die kit that works)
3. Cut off the excess with a hacksaw, dremel, or grinder
4. Take the nut off to clear the threads. Clean it up with a file.
5. Apply Loctite blue.
6. Put it together and forget about it.


Or, skip steps 1-4, add washers (as pwdeegan suggests), and perform steps 5 and 6

Whatever store I go to I get the same responce. They tell me they don't stock a large variety of metric fasteners but if I'm willing to get a box of 100 they can order anything for me.

Whatever happened to the old world skills?

If a washer or two doesn't do the trick it takes but a moment to hacksaw the bolt to the proper length and use a smooth cut file to dress the ragged end. You can have any length you want that way.

Try your local Ace Hardware - a huge selection of metric in just about any configuration you desire. I prefer their stainless selection.

The Ace stores that were close to me have closed and their selection was mediocre.
I was surprised to find 6mm stainless washers at Lowes last week - but it was the last packet in the drawer. Next person will be disappointed.
Highly satisfied with Bolt Depot dot com even though S & H costs too much.

We should swap bolts. Planet Bike in their infinite wisdom gave me bolts that were too short for my fenders and I haven't installed them because of it. Then their instructions state to use longer mystery bolts that are not included.

What type of head do you prefer?

Button: https://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cg...em_id=US-BS510

Flat: https://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cg...em_id=US-FS510

Socket: https://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cg...em_id=US-SS510

My condolences. The hardware stores around here generally have a pretty good selection.

Actually we've got a couple or three stores around here that do nothing but fasteners.

Ditto from me. The local Ace-affiliated hardware store (Parkrose Hardware) has metric hardware in black, zinc-plated, and stainless steel; standard, hex-, and button-head hex; threads from 3mm to 12mm; and bolts and washers to match. What's really neat is they have the black nylon screws and wingnuts that I need to attach the fairing to my recumbent. If there's something really weird that I need, I'll search Grainger.

BTW to the OP: STFF means Search The Freakin' Forum...

this (1-6)

Very thankful that Al Gore invented online merchandising.